Spirits will soar!

TSO Concertmaster Emma McGrath plays violin and Benjamin Northey conducts.

Sublime short-work The Lark Ascending soars in the hands of Emma McGrath.

Whether it be a lark rising ever higher until it disappears from sight or a clear mountain stream tumbling over mossy rocks, the outdoors comes indoors in this concert. Peter Sculthorpe’s brief Pastorale sets the scene while violinist extraordinaire Emma McGrath performs the solo part in Vaughan Williams’s ethereal Lark Ascending, popularly held to be the most sublime short work for violin and orchestra. Paul Stanhope’s Fantasia on a Theme of Vaughan Williams offers a joyous response to ‘Down Ampney’ (Come Down, O Love Divine), a famous hymn tune by Vaughan Williams.

The second half of the concert is given over to Beethoven’s ‘Pastoral’ symphony, a musical excursion to the countryside and a celebration of the restorative powers of the outdoors. Go on your own rural retreat in this nature-inspired program.

Watch the livestream on Friday 2 May 2025 7:30pm
Available on demand Monday 19 May until Monday 16 June

PROGRAM
Sculthorpe, Pastorale
Vaughan Williams, The Lark Ascending
Stanhope, Fantasia on a Theme of Vaughan Williams
Beethoven, Symphony No 6 in F, Op 68, ‘Pastoral’

MUSICIANS
Conductor: Benjamin Northey
Violin: Emma McGrath
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra

Federation Concert Hall, Nipaluna / Hobart